Where There's Smoke
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Post-Ep "The Eyes Have It" JJ/Hotch. Unrequited love is often painful. Sometimes the only choice is no choice at all. Co-auth'd w/tonnie2001969


**Where There's Smoke**

Staring through the glass window, JJ shook her head sadly at the lonely man sitting behind his desk staring blindly at the papers in front of him. She knew he wasn't actually seeing anything at this point because she knew that man…and his look. Right now, Aaron Hotchner was trapped in his memories. Probably of his son, possibly combined with Haley…but he was definitely caught up in his past.

A year ago, she wouldn't have hesitated marching into his office and pulling him back to reality. A year ago, she would have tried to make him smile…put a light back into his eyes. But that was before Henry. And Will.

A year ago seemed a million years away.

Biting her lip, she felt momentarily guilty…almost unfaithful…for looking at Hotch. It was fair to say that she'd spent more than one idle moment filling her thoughts with her handsome boss. Years spent working together, almost living together on the road, had created a closeness that defied definition. For years before she'd ever met William LaMontagne, she'd harbored more than just a professional feeling for her superior. But there were rules. And there were rules for a reason.

So she never crossed that invisible line. It might have been imperceptible, unseen to the naked eye, but her mind's eye was well aware of its exact placement. She'd never even flirted with it.

But watching him now, the silence surrounding her almost deafening, she almost wished she had. Because, now, he needed someone. He needed a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to bend. But it couldn't be her. It could never be her.

At least, not anymore. She'd made a commitment to Will. To her son. To their life together. But still, the deep yearning was still there. The fire that burned within her heart for this man had never been extinguished. It had just been banked, pushed to the side. And stirring the embers now…it would be foolish…on so many levels.

Where there's smoke, there's always fire. And fire destroyed too many things.

As she stood in the quiet hallway staring through the paned glass, she never heard David Rossi's soft approach.

"Sad, isn't it?" he asked quietly from beside her, his eyes kind as he easily recognized the longing look on her pale face.

Startling, JJ lifted alarmed eyes to familiar dark orbs. Damn it! She had to remember to find and hang a bell around the elder profiler's neck at her earliest possible convenience. Nodding, she whispered, her voice almost broken, "He barely leaves his office anymore unless it's for a case. Those files of Foyet's have become an extension of his hand."

He was a profiler for a reason, and his skills were not limited to the criminal mind. Reading the intentions of others came easily to him, especially on someone as open as his young friend. Gazing knowingly at her, Dave asked softly, "You aren't gonna go in there, are you?"

"I don't think that would be for the best. For any of us," JJ replied, her voice equally soft in the still hallway. The heating vent suddenly came alive above her head, the soft puffs of air fluttering against her long locks. Lifting her eyes back to his as she brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she urged, "But you should. He needs someone right now. It just can't be me. Not anymore."

"I understand," Dave nodded, rubbing her back gently, his hand comforting, supporting. "And for the record, I think you're making a wise decision. I've destroyed marriages with my recklessness, JJ."

He knew, JJ realized, looking into Dave's dark eyes. He knew how she felt. "Am I that obvious?" she whispered hoarsely, staring down at her sensible heels. For years, she had fought to hide this aberration, sublimating her desires for the greater good. And now, someone else knew her deepest secret.

"Only to someone who has already faced wanting someone you shouldn't have more than once in his life," Dave confided, his voice deep and sure in the deserted hallway. "I wrecked my second marriage that way, Jen. I'm just glad that you're smarter than I was."

Sighing, JJ realized she'd been caught in her own web, the delicate strands starting to tighten around her mind and soul. "You won't…" she broke off, searching for words.

"Say anything?" he supplied, glancing down at her, hearing more than just a simple question in her voice. "No, Jen. You're secret is safe with me. But, if you ever decide that things aren't going to work between you and LaMontagne…I'll be standing at the head of the line, cheering you on with that man in there," Dave said, nodding toward the transparent glass

Well, one thing was certain…it was true that support could come from the unlikeliest sources. "Thanks," JJ muttered, rubbing her hand nervously against her skirt. "I need to get home to the baby." Gazing through the glass at Hotch one last time, she asked, her voice barely audible, "Take care of him for me, okay?"

Dave nodded, promising as his eyes shifted to stare at their mutual friend, "I will, Jen. You just take care of you."

And as she walked down the empty hallway, she had to remind herself that not all choices were supposed to be easy.

Sometimes, doing nothing was the most difficult choice of all.

_**FINIS**_


End file.
